lorenz



Feb. 7.. 1956 A. J. LORENZ BOWLING BALL GRIP MEASURING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 2, 1954 m 00.00000 OOQQQOQ m 56%.

INVENTOR. A1 55W J [OAE/VZ BY M254 ATTOR/VEV Feb. 7. 1956 A. J. LORENZ 2,733,515

BOWLING BALL GRIP MEASURING DEVICE Filed Dec. 2, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR. 4155M J [ORf/VZ By M United States Patent BOWLING BALL GRIP MEASURING DEVICE Albert J. Lorenz, Clifton, N. J., assignor to American Hard Rubber Company, New York, N. Y., a cor oration of New York The present invention relates to a bowling ball grip measuring device and more particularly to such a device in the rennet a substantially spherical structure approximating the weight of a conventional ball and made up in two portions, each of which is a part of a sphere of the s'ameradius, the radius being that of the conventional bowling ball aforesaid. These portions are. something less than complementary to each other, so that they may be arranged around a common center, one of these portions to be provided with one or more thumb holes and, the other to be provided with one or more pairs of fingerholes. Thus by having the thumb holes of different' sizes and the finger holes likewise of different sizes, and further by having the portions relativelym'ovable' with respect to each other, it is possible to provide an almost infinite varietyof combinations of different size holes, different arrangement of holes and different spans between the holes, so'as "to suitthe grip ,of any bowler. The device is arranged so that one portion may be adjusted with respect tothe other and the adjustment secured in a fixed position, so thattl1eperson trying out the device may actually handle it"as a bowling ball to fg'et' the complete feel ther'eofand to assure the ac- Iciiracy of the adjustment. "The size and position of the holes may then be ascertained' by suitable' meas'urement and a conventional bowling ball prepared by drilling with this'sizeand arr'angementof holesfor peculiar useof 'the person testing it. In this wa'y a'person is assured of a bowling ball which is pecula'rlyedapted for' use by"the person for whom it is intended.

"Prior art grip measuring'device's I have been devised which purport to do all the various things'above described. These devices have been somewhat short of fully satisfactory, however, in that theineans' by which the" adjustment between the two portions ofthe ball or device has been insecure, so that it has been diificult and sometimes impossible, particularly when theprior. art devices "have been somewhat worn, to hold the two portions of th ese grip measuring devices in an adjustedposition during an actual tryout of the ball device by" bowling.

The present invention seeks to overcomethis' difiiculty by providing an improved means for connecting the two portions of the device and particularly for securing the ladjustment therebetween against inadvertent slippage, so .that the device, once the adjustment is made and secured ,orlocked, may be usefd'as an actual bowling ball and a ;'fair and complete test made of the adjustment.

Summarizing the present invention, therefore, it com- .p rises the. combination in ,a device as above set forth of a new and improved means for connecting the two portions thereof and for securing or locking any adjustment which may be made as between such portions. This means comprises a substantially annular member secured to one of the ball portions and having a part in the form of a hollow sphere, which may be engaged on both its :inner and outer spherical surfaces by gripping means secured to or forming a part of the other portion of the 2,733,515 Patented Feb. 7, 1956 ball device, so as to lock the two portions of the ball device against any inadvertent and undesired relative movement. The annular member preferably isformed of rigid metal at least as to its core portion, andhasat least one, and. preferably both, its inner and outerspherical surfaces coated with a suitable rubber-like compound, which is softer than the spherical surfaces which grippingly engage it respectively at the adjusted position of the parts and when the adjustment is locked as aforesaid. Particularly, the coating on the annular member is provided, preferably on both surfaces, and is a rubber composition somewhat softer than the rubber composition of which the ball portions may be formed and, of course, softer than the metal member, which is used as hereinafter set forth, to engage the inner spherical surface of the annular member. One or both of .these engaging surfaces may be roughened, serrated, knurledjor somehow formed with surface irregularities'whichf will cooperate with the relatively soft coating on one'or both surfaces of the annular member to assurefulllockiiig when the portions of the ball device are "secured to one another after they have been adjusted to a desired point. Inasmuch as the annular member aforesaid has its spherical surface'sconcentric with the spherical surfaces] of the two ball portions, the adjustment may besecured at any desired adjusted position. TI

Other and more detailed features of the invention will be set forth hereinafter and willbebetter appreciated by reference to the accompanying-drawings, in which:

Figure l is a view in elevation of abowling ballgrip measuring device in accordance with thepfesent invention; Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view of the device taken substantially on the lineZ-Z of Fig. l; I

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detailed view section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a view partly in elevation and partly broken away and in vertical section of the metal portion of the annular member hereinafter described in detail, prior to the application thereto of the relatively soft rubberlike composition to form the inner and outer gripping surfaces; i I v i Fig. 5 is a view in elevation of the central gripping means and its stem; 1 I Fig. 6 is a view similar to the lower portion of Fig. 5 showing a modified form of surface of the'spherical portion of the gripping means, particularly a knurled surin transverse face; and j Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view, substantially in, central section as in Fig. 2, of the upper portion as shownin Fig. 2 of the ball device, showing amodified form of inner surface conformation to give a better grip with respect to the relatively softer outer surface of the ann'ular member. n

Turning now to the accompanying drawings, in which is shown a preferred embodiment of the invention, there is illustrated a bowling ball grip-measuring device including a first portion 10, which is provided as shown with a plurality of thumb holes 11 and a portion 12 provided with a plurality of pairs of finger holes 13. The two portions 10 and 12 are something less than complementary to each other as indicated by the annular space of outwardly diverging width shown at 14. This space is closed at its outer periphery by a substantially annular band member 15, preferably of metal, and preferably formed in two or more portions in a manner not illustrated, butwhich will be obvious to those skilled in the art. Each portion of the band member 15 is secured by means not shown to the ball portion 12, such means preferably comprising suitable screws or similar devices. Also as shown, the band member 15 has an outer contour which is a partof a spherical surface concentric with the spherical outer surfacesmof the ball portions and 12. The ball portions are suitably recessed as indicated at 16 and 17 to receive the band member This permits the device as a whole to be used as a bowling ball, once the portions 10 and 12 thereof have been set to any predetermined adjusted position and the setting or adjustment therebetween secured by the means hereinafter described and which particularly form the subject matter of the present invention.

For holding the ball portions. 10 and 12 in their asserribled position and for securing them together at any adjusted position, there is provided novel means according to the'present invention. One element of these means comprises an annular member 18, which is preferably formed of metal at least as to the core portion thereof. Themember'IS is secured to the ball portion 10, for example, by'intermeshing threads as shown at 19. In order practically topermit the member 18 to be positioned and removed from the ball portion 10, the outer peripheral fiange thereofpshown at 20 inFig. 4, is provided with at leasttwo substantially diametrically positioned apertures21 which may beengaged by the pins of a suitable spanner type wrench. One of these holes, or an additional similar hole 'or aperture, may be threaded and'pro- I vided with 'a set screw as shown at 22 (Fig. 2) to loca' ,themember 18 against inadvertent unscrewing move- 'ment, the set screw 22 extendinginto engagement with the subjacent part. of the ball portion 10 as shown.

The member 18 is provided with inner and outer gripping surfaces 23 and 24 for engagement with suitable gripping means hereinafter described. These surfaces are preferably formed as portions of spherical surfaces concentric with the'outer spherical surfaces of the ball portions 10 and 12 at the operative position of the parts as shown in Fig. 2.

The outer spherical surface 24 of the member 18 is preferably engagedby a complementary inner spherical surface 25 of the ball portion 12 as shown. The inner sphericalsurface 23 of the member 18 is engaged by a spherical surface 26 of agripping means generally indicated at 27, which ispreferably of suitable metal, such as steel, and which is provided with a stem portion 28 extending through a suitable aperture 29 in the ball portion 12. The outer end portion of the stemportion 28 is threaded as illustrated at 30 and is engaged by a suitable nut 31. As shown, the nut 31 has an outer spherical su'rface arranged concentric-with the outer spherical surface of the ball portion 12 when the nut is in'position in a recess 32 formed in this ball portion, as shown in Fig. 2. The nut is also provided with one or more diarnetrically.arranged sets of apertures 33, which may be engaged by the pins of a suitable spanner wrench for rotating the nut fortightening and loosening the adjustment, aswill now be obvious from the drawings and the foregoing description.

Means are also provided in conjunction with the parts thus far described for preventing relative rotation be- Ytween the-gripping means 27 and the ball portion 12.

For this purpose the stem 28 may be provided with a laterally extending pin 34, which is received in a suitable radial slot 35 formed in the ball portion 12, as

in Fig.2. a

.While the deviceas hereinabove described'is normally effectivefor accomplishing the purposes 'set forth, it has best shown been found that the best type of gripping as between mating spherical surfaces is where these surfaces are of material ofdiiferent hardnesses. Thus, for example, if the ball portions 10 and 12 are-formed, as is now contemplated, of a hard rubber composition material, thenthe member 18 may be wholly of metal and may have its outer spherical surface wholly of metal and provide relatively different hardnesses at the surfaces 2425, the metalbeing harder than the hard rubber of which the ball portion 12 is formed.

"On the other hand, it'has been found to 'be a desirable type of construction to form the inner and outer surfaces of the member 18 of a relatively softer rubber composition or rubber-like material, which may be applied onto the metal shell or core of the member 18 and be rigidly secured thereto, for example, by vulcanizing it in place, the member 18 being provided with a plurality of grooves as indicated at 36 and 37 (Fig. 4). Thus the member 18, as shown, may have an inner relatively soft friction layer 38 and an outer relatively soft friction layer 39. The composition of both the friction layers 38 and 39 may be the same or difierent as desired. In a preferred embodiment, however, this composition is the same inside and outside and in each instance is somewhat softer (5260 as measured by Shore D durorneter) than the composition of which the ball portions 10 and 12 are formed (79-84 as measured in the same way). By the same token, the layer or covering 38 will be softer than the metal of which the gripping means 27 is formed. Furthermore, if desired, the inner surface 25 of the ball portion12 may be provided, as shown in Fig. 7, with a plurality of grooves as indicated at formed as annular grooves or formed in some other fashion, for example, intersecting grooves. These grooves or nonuniform configurations, of which the grooves shown in Fig.7 are but one example, may cooperate with the relatively softcoating layer 39 to give assured gripping at any adjusted position of the parts. In a similar way, the outer surface 26 of the ball or spherical portion of the gripping means 27 may be formed as diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 6 with suitable non-uniform surface configurations as the knurling 41 indicated in that figure. This non-uniform surface configuration may also cooperate with the relatively soft inner layer 38 of the member 18 to .give a tight grip when the parts are suitably adjusted and the adjustment secured or locked by tightening the nut 31.

While there is illustrated and has been described herein but one principal embodiment of the invention with minor variations as to certain detailed features, other equivalents will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art from the foregoing disclosure. jlimite'd, therefore, except by the scope of the appended 'claim,which is to be construed validly as broadly as the I do not wish to be state of the prior art permits.

What is claimed is: In a substantiallyspherical bowling ball grip measuring device for determining the characteristics of holes for bowlingjballs for different personsrespectively, said device having two ball portions, each of which is a part of a sphere ofthe same radius, said radius being substantially that'of a standard'bowling ball, said portions being sufficiently less thancomplementary to each other so that when'they are arranged with a common center, one of saidportionsmay be moved about said common center with respectto the other ofsaid portions, at least one 7 thumb hole arranged in one of said portions, at least one set of finger holes arranged in the other of said portions;

connecting and adjustment-securing means between said portions, comprising a substantially annular member having concentric inner and outer substantially spherical surfaces and being rigidly connected to one of said portions in such manner that said surfaces will be concentric with the center of said one portion, the other of said portions having an annular interior surface portion formed as a part of a sphere concentric with the outer surface of this other portion and having an inner radius substantially equal to the radius to the outer surface of said substantially annular member, gripping means adjustably securable to said other portion and having a part formed as a part of a sphere having a radius substantially equal to the radius of the inner spherical surface of said annular member, means for forcing said gripping means to grip the inside surface of said annular member and thereby to hold the outer surface thereof against the inner spherical surface portion of said other portion of said device: said annular member being built with a core portion of rigid metal, which is threadedly secured to one of said portions of said device with said substantially spherical surfaces thereof concentric with both said portions of said device at the operative position of the parts, each of said substantially spherical surfaces of said annular member being formed as a coating of a rubber-like composition which is relatively softer than the material of which said portions of said device are formed, said coatings being rigidly secured to the core portion of said annular member; said other portion of said device having its inner spherical surface for contact with the outer spherical surface of said annular member formed with a plurality of grooves for engagement with the relatively soft rubberlike composition forming the outer coating of said annular member; and said gripping means, which is adjustably secured to said other portion of said device,

, having its outer substantially spherical surface, which is arranged for contact with the inner spherical surface of said annular member, formed as a knurled surface, so as to give a tight gripping engagement with the relatively soft coating forming the inner spherical surface of said annular member; said gripping means having a stem portion extending through an aperture in said other portion of said device and provided with means for preventing relative rotation between said stem portion of said gripping means and saidother portion of said device, and

means cooperating with said stem portion for relatively moving said gripping means in a direction in alignment with said stem portion, so as to grip said annular member between the spherical part of said gripping means and the inside of said other portion of said device.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

